“Supercell” (2023)
Father and Son tale. Watched together by a Father and a Son.
Father and Son tale. Watched together by a Father and a Son.
“When you do something you love, you’re never scared” and so begins Supercell, a father and son tale watched by a father with his thunderstorm and Twister loving son, and a film I confidently predict he’ll soon be watching once more with his similarly natural disaster film loving Mother in what is also a Mother and Son film of growing up and following your dreams as well as the footprints left in the rain of your parents.
So there’s your simple premise for a Twister, Into The Storm and The Day After Tomorrow inspired film of storm chasers in West Texas who, backed by an ET: The Extra Terrestrial sounding orchestral musical score leans on many films of the past as well as a look into the multi media future of storm tours and eager “Tourist idiots and idiot tourists” all fulfilling their passions, hobbies, obsessions, compulsions and desires in league with a young man following those same obsessions handed down to him from his parents in a commercialised world they were already well ahead of a decade ago. Now, and after a dusty road intersection so reminiscent of another film of the past, Castaway, he seeks to prove them, and himself, right.
With all of the aforementioned films of the past as touchstones for this century’s Twister, you would be forgiven for thinking Supercell was in such exalted company. Whilst it isn’t, by any means, it’s a fun ride I enjoyed sharing with an excited son who thoroughly enjoyed the cinematic last day of storm chasing season as their van is ripped asunder in the eye of the storm that also accounted for a lone telephone booth almost ripped from its foundations. Stand out scenes include the clambering atop a house roof to be beside a Father to watch a coming storm or a similar hike on top of a school roof for another storm or the watching of lightning and the beaming smiles shared between an uncle and his nephew.
The performances are perfunctory enough and well played, with Daniel Diemer stealing top billing in my eyes from his more accomplished and established co-stars. Skeet Ulrich is unrecognisable from his outings in the Scream franchise of films as Uncle Roy and carrier of the flame of the family business now owned by the greasy and deliberately unlikeable Alec Baldwin seeking the commercial value of the name on the side of the vans that were once used to chase storms but are now employed to ferry fee paying tourists, and Anne Heche grows into her role as a permanently smoking and sassy Mother brilliantly and as she does so, she seems to constantly drive everyone else’s car!
Written and directed in his feature length cinematic debut by Herbert James Winterstern (with a shared writing credit with Anna James), the film is dedicated “For Mom and Anne” and to the memory of Anne Heche who tragically died in August 2022 at the youthful age of just 53. Supercell is Anne’s final film released at the time of writing, with three further films and one TV series in post production for release in a yet to be confirmed future.
Anne Heche (1969–2022)
Thanks for reading. Just for larks as always, and always a human reaction rather than spoilers galore. My three most recently published film articles are linked below or there’s well over 250 blog articles (with 500+ individual film reviews) within my film library from which to choose:
“The Unforgivable” (2021)
Everything in its right place.medium.com
“John Wick — Chapter 2” (2017)
The return of “Death’s very emissary”.medium.com